Blogher posts by sixuntilmehttp://www.blogher.com/user/2104/feed
enThere Is No Cure for Diabetes.http://www.blogher.com/there-no-cure-diabetes
<!--paging_filter--><p>Celebrities sometimes use their power for good.&nbsp; Like Kevin Kline.&nbsp; His son was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNIDQbNTv4g">Kevin has since been working with diabetes organizations</a> to raise both awareness and funds for research towards a cure.&nbsp; THAT is celebrity power used effectively.&nbsp; His words, his efforts make a difference that is both poignant and tangible.</p>
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<p>But some celebrities don't realize the impact of their words.&nbsp; Like good ol' Halle Berry, who is a disastrous representative of the diabetes community.&nbsp; Diagnosed with diabetes in 1989, Berry claimed -- <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Health/DiabetesResource/story?id=3822870&amp;page=2">in a 2007 interview</a> -- "I've managed to wean myself off insulin, so now I'd like to put myself in the Type 2 category."&nbsp; I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that Berry was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, or perhaps some other kind of diabetes (see also:&nbsp; <a href="http://www.diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/mody/">monogenic</a>), but definitely not the type 1 diabetes she claims to have been diagnosed with.&nbsp; Because if she did have type 1 diabetes and stopped taking insulin, she would have most certainly died within a short time frame.&nbsp; How can I be so certain that she doesn't have type 1 diabetes?&nbsp; I'm not a medical professional.&nbsp; I'm not a doctor.&nbsp; I'm not even a certified diabetes educator.&nbsp; What gives me the right to voice a frustration with celebrities who claim "cure?"</p>
<p>
<div style="float:left;margin-right:5px;"><a href="http://view.picapp.com/pictures.photo/entertainment/client-sanon-has-her/image/9523415?term=diabetes" target="_blank"><img src="http://view1.picapp.com/pictures.photo/image/9523415/client-sanon-has-her/client-sanon-has-her.jpg?size=234&amp;imageId=9523415" border="0" width="234" title="Client Sanon has her finger pricked for a blood sugar test in the Family Van in Boston" height="160" oncontextmenu="return false;" ondrag="return false;" onmousedown="return false;" alt="Client Viola Sanon has her finger pricked for a blood sugar test in the Family Van in Boston, Massachusetts, August 9, 2010. Every week, dozens of residents of this low-income Boston neighborhood stop into the Family Van, an RV manned by healthcare workers affiliated with Harvard Medical School who perform simple, free screenings, including blood pressure, body mass index and blood sugar, which can alert patients if they face an elevated risk for diabetes, hypertension or other chronic conditions. REUTERS/Brian Snyder (UNITED STATES - Tags: HEALTH SOCIETY)" /></a></div>
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://view.picapp.com//JavaScripts/OTIjs.js"></script></p><p>Because I have been living with type 1 diabetes <a href="http://sixuntilme.com/blog2/2010/09/24_years.html">for over 24 years</a>.&nbsp; That means more than three quarters of my life have been spent testing my blood sugar, carefully monitoring my food, and injecting insulin.&nbsp; People with type 1 diabetes do not make their own insulin.&nbsp; Insulin needs to be administered either by syringe or by insulin pump.&nbsp; Without it, I would die.&nbsp; Very quickly, at that.&nbsp; So while I don't have a medical degree, I do have this disease that Berry claims to be cured of.&nbsp; And such claims make me so frustrated.&nbsp; People hear her spouting off about being weaned off insulin and then they ask me, "Kerri, are you not working hard enough to be weaned?"</p>
<div style="float:right;margin-left:5px;"><a href="http://view.picapp.com/pictures.photo/entertainment/39th-season-the-price/image/9523737?term=drew+carey" target="_blank"><img src="http://view1.picapp.com/pictures.photo/image/9523737/39th-season-the-price/39th-season-the-price.jpg?size=380&amp;imageId=9523737" border="0" width="380" title="39th Season of The Price is Right Premiere Episode Taping" height="448" oncontextmenu="return false;" ondrag="return false;" onmousedown="return false;" alt="LOS ANGELES, CA - AUGUST 09: Comedian/host Drew Carey appears onstage at the taping of the 39th season premiere of 'The Price is Right' at Television City on August 9, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)" /></a></div>
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://view.picapp.com//JavaScripts/OTIjs.js"></script><p>Another raised voice in this "celebrity with diabetes" pool is Drew Carey.&nbsp; Drew Carey has type 2 diabetes.&nbsp; Type 2 diabetes is an entirely different beast than type 1 diabetes, because while a person with type 1 diabetes stops producing insulin entirely, a person with type 2 diabetes develops a condition known as "insulin resistance," where their body makes insulin, but it doesn't perform properly.&nbsp; While I do not have type 2 diabetes, I have many close friends who do, and they are regular fixtures in the diabetes blogging community.&nbsp; I've read about their emotional responses to their diagnoses, their struggles with the stigma associated with diabetes, and their reactions to people who assume that type 2 diabetes is curable.</p>
<p>There is no cure for type 2 diabetes.&nbsp; If you are a type 2 diabetic and you are taking medication to control your blood sugars, you still have type 2 diabetes.&nbsp; If you are injecting insulin and checking your blood sugar regularly, much like a person with type 1 diabetes, you still have type 2 diabetes.&nbsp; If you are managing your condition with diet and exercise, and not with medicines, you still have type 2 diabetes.&nbsp; And if you were once on medication, but you were able to cut it out of your management plan, you STILL have type 2 diabetes.&nbsp; Not being on medication doesn't mean you are cured.&nbsp; It means that your condition is managed without medication, but you are still working to control a disease.&nbsp; The disease doesn't leave your body just because the medication did. &nbsp;</p>
<p>But Drew claims that his 80 pound weight loss has earned him the right to claim cure.&nbsp; "'I'm not diabetic anymore,' <a href="http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20406175,00.html">he told [People] magazine</a>. 'No medication needed.'" </p>
<p>I'm happy for Carey's weight loss achievement and the fact that he's no longer on diabetes medications.&nbsp; But as a member of the diabetes community at large, I'm frustrated by these misconceptions and false claims being peppered into the media.&nbsp; There is no "cure" for diabetes.&nbsp; Not for type 1 or type 2 (but there are widely varying levels of treatment).&nbsp; The Joslin Clinic in Boston <a href="http://www.joslin.org/info/will_diabetes_go_away.html">states quite clearly on their website</a>:&nbsp;</p>
<blockquote><p>"There is no cure for diabetes. Neither type 1 (juvenile onset or insulin-requiring) diabetes or type 2 (adult-onset) diabetes ever goes away."&nbsp;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>But now everyone who picks up People magazine will see that Drew Carey was "cured," and may assume that everyone who still has diabetes is just too damn lazy to get off their ass and off their medication.&nbsp; While weight does play a strategic role in the health maintenance of a person with type 2 diabetes, it's not the end game.&nbsp; There's more to type 2 diabetes than just the weight.&nbsp; Skinny people get type 2 diabetes.&nbsp; So do young people.&nbsp; And like its type 1 counterpart, there is no cure. &nbsp;</p>
<p>Diabetes isn't the most agreeable disease to manage.&nbsp; <a href="http://www.sixuntilme.com">I know this fact firsthand</a>.&nbsp; For people living with type 1 or type 2 diabetes, it's a daily dance of food balance, medication juggling, and both blood sugar and emotional roller coasters.&nbsp; Life can be considered normal, but it's a new normal, and it's not always easy.&nbsp; And I, for one, do not want to see society viewing people with diabetes as undeserving of research or funding towards a real cure because they think we can be cured solely through weight loss.&nbsp; Or for them to think that all diabetes is controllable and treatable and potentially reversible.&nbsp; That it just requires work, and for the diabetic to not be lazy about taking care of themselves. </p>
<p>If one dollar of funding towards diabetes research is put back into a potential donor's pocket because they believe, as a result of your words, that all types of diabetes are the same and that all diabetics simply didn't take the measures to "prevent" their disease, that would be beyond shameful.</p>
<p>And for those of us with diabetes -- all kinds -- we will have to carry the burden that society doesn't deem us "worth curing" because they think we did this to ourselves. </p>
<p>Come on, Drew.&nbsp; Come on, Halle.&nbsp; Can't you use your celebrity powers for good?&nbsp; Or are you seriously going to let the diabetes misconceptions in mainstream media become so prevalent that any hopes for a cure are forever stunted?</p>
<div class="og_rss_groups"></div>Healthdrew careyHalle Berrymedical misconceptionstype 1 diabetestype 2 diabeteshttp://www.blogher.com/files/imagecache/user_small/pictures/picture-2104.jpgWed, 22 Sep 2010 17:25:33 +0000sixuntilme330960 at http://www.blogher.comSomeone Else's Childhood: A Diabetic Discovers Eating for Funhttp://www.blogher.com/someone-elses-childhood
<!--paging_filter--><p>Recently, my husband and I went to a French restaurant to celebrate our marriage and our growing family.</p>
<p>Since I was <a href="http://sixuntilme.com/blog2/diabetes_and_pregnancy/" target="_blank">seven months pregnant</a>, we didn’t crack open any bottles of wine during this dinner, but instead decided to indulge on a delicious fruit plate with chocolate fondue, which included white chocolate and hazelnut dipping sauces on the side.</p>
<p>“What is this stuff?” I asked, easing my strawberry into the small dish of hazelnut spread.</p>
<!--break--><!--break--><p>“It’s Nutella, baby. You’ve never had that before?”</p>
<p>“No. It tastes like hazelnuts and sort of like chocolate. But it’s not chocolate. And it’s seriously awesome. What’s it called again?” I couldn’t stop rambling – this stuff was totally hitting the spot, appeasing my craving for something sweet and decadent.</p>
<p>“Nutella. You’re being serious? You’ve never had this before?”</p>
<p>“Dude, why would my mother ever introduce me to this sort of thing? I’d have stolen jars of it from the store and eaten them in one gulp, had I known.” I smiled ruefully, thinking of the E.L. Fudge cookie binges I went on as a kid, rearranging the remaining cookies in the sleeve to hide the holes where the missing cookies had once been.</p>
<p>“Good point.” He handed me another strawberry. “Bolus away, love.”<br /><br />I forget how many of those “treats” I haven’t missed during the last twenty-three years. As a kid, I hadn’t ever stuck a spoon into a jar of Fluff and gobbled up a few bites, and I hadn’t ever had juice “for fun.” (Always “for lows.”) It was strange to picture a childhood in which Ring Dings weren’t eaten in secret or rice cakes weren’t used as hopeful barter in third grade for a Snicker’s bar in the cafeteria. (For the record, no one ever wanted my rice cakes. They usually ended up shoved back into my book bag and eaten on the bus by this weird kid who also ate mud pies – literally.)</p>
<p>Food is such a tricky, tricky thing for me, and enjoying a sweet treat in public isn’t ever easy. I usually swallow a little bit of guilt with each bite of sweet, but I know that carrying the guilt isn’t fair. So long as I’m respecting my diabetes control when I indulge, there’s no harm in finding out just how delicious Nutella can be.</p>
<p>But when the check arrived, and with it, a wand of freshly spun, light pink cotton candy, I exclaimed excitedly, “Oooh! Cotton candy! I’ve only had that once before!”</p>
<p>Chris’s face broke into a wide smile as I twirled off a small section of the spun sugar and tasted someone else’s childhood.</p>
<p><center><a href="http://view.picapp.com/default.aspx?term=melted chocolate&amp;iid=5082754" target="_blank"><img src="http://cdn.picapp.com/ftp/Images/b/f/a/c/Girl_45_tasting_912e.jpg?adImageId=11279417&amp;imageId=5082754" width="330" height="517" border="0" alt="Girl (4-5) tasting chocolate sauce in kitchen" /></a></center></p>
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://cdn.pis.picapp.com/IamProd/PicAppPIS/JavaScript/PisV4.js"></script><p></p>
<p><a href="http://www.sixuntilme.com">Six Until Me</a>.</p>
<div class="og_rss_groups"></div>Healthchildhoodchronic illnessDiabetesfoodgrowing uphttp://www.blogher.com/files/imagecache/user_small/pictures/picture-2104.jpgThu, 18 Mar 2010 14:00:00 +0000sixuntilme263130 at http://www.blogher.comNo One is Perfecthttp://www.blogher.com/no-one-perfect
<!--paging_filter--><p>A few weeks ago, <a href="http://sixuntilme.com/blog2/2009/01/a1c_sigh.html" target="_blank">when I was gearing up to hear my A1C results</a>, I admitted freely that the wedding stress of eight month ago really left it's mark on my numbers.</p>
<p>And over that weekend, I received several emails from people that said, &quot;Me, too! I have trouble lowering my A1C too, but every step towards my goal is a step in the right direction!&quot; I also received emails just wishing me some luck on controlling these numbers.</p>
<p>Then there was the one that asserted &quot;A person in your public-facing position should have better control of their numbers. You are a role-model and someone that should set an example to these young children. An A1C of 7.5% is not good enough.&quot;</p>
<p>And then there was a <a href="http://sixuntilme.com/blog2/2009/01/a1c_sigh.html#comment-29438" target="_blank">comment from Dr. Bernstein</a>: &quot;An A1c of 7% corresponds to an average BG of 180 mg/dl. Not a wise target for someone who wants to become pregnant. A normal A1c is 4.2-4.6 % -- not what the ADA promotes. Pregnant non-obese non-diabetics usually have blood sugars below 70mg/dl.&quot;</p>
<p>I'm not sure what kind of impression people get of me from reading this blog, but if I've made the mistake of fooling you into thinking I know how to perfectly control my diabetes, that unfortunately is not the case. I'm not a role model, not like that. I don't have perfect diabetes control and on some days, I'm not sure what to do next. I am trying to fill in for my islet cells, for an organ that went rogue on me, and it's not a science I've perfected. I'm working hard, every day, to achieve a level of life and health balance.</p>
<p>So to the folks who think I should have an A1C of 5.0% simply because I blog about diabetes ... for those who are reading and clucking your tongue against the roof of your mouth - &quot;Oh, her baby is going to be upset in there if she has an A1c that high when she conceives.&quot; - I invite you to stop clucking around. (Puns. Cannot resist. Sorry.) <a href="http://www.sixuntilme.com" target="_blank">SUM</a> is a public blog, and I've made the choice to make my diabetes life a public one, but I'm not a doctor. My A1C is not 5.0%. I don't have this &quot;all figured out.&quot; (And I sometimes eat E.L. Fudge cookies when I'm frustrated.) </p>
<p>But blogging has provided me with a support community I couldn't have imagined. I can't even begin to tell you what kind of an impact you all have had on me, proving time and time again that I am not alone with this disease. You guys make me <a href="http://www.diabetesoc.blogspot.com" target="_blank">feel connected</a>, secure, and confident that every bump along the way can serve to educate me and make me a tougher (E.L. Fudge?) cookie. I appreciate the support, and I appreciate the criticisms because they are more than valid. But don't expect me to have this thing completely controlled.</p>
<p>I want to be healthy, and I want to enjoy a <a href="http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/5868/profile" target="_blank">healthy pregnancy</a> in my future. I am working to bring my body to a state of optimal health, but I'm not lying to myself, or to my readers, along the way. Shit. Gets. In. The. Way. I can't pretend to be perfect, but I am honest about my shortcomings, and I am trying to do better for myself and for my family. </p>
<p>If you want to leave comments about how you think I should be better controlled, I'll agree with you. If you want to peck at my armor and find the kinks, you won't have to look very hard. I put all of this out there knowing the risks and the judgments that come with a public-facing blog. And I appreciate that people care and offer their <a href="http://www.forums.childrenwithdiabetes.com" target="_blank">opinions and perspectives</a> (both good and bad), and provide that community I was craving when I felt alone. </p>
<p>But my diabetes, shared with the Internet or not, remains mine. </p>
<p>Remember that before you pick up a stone. My house isn't the only glass one.</p>
<div class="og_rss_groups"></div>HealthChronic Illnessdiabetessixuntilmehttp://www.blogher.com/files/imagecache/user_small/pictures/picture-2104.jpgSun, 29 Mar 2009 08:00:00 +0000sixuntilme79851 at http://www.blogher.comWild (PR) Pitcheshttp://www.blogher.com/wild-pr-pitches
<!--paging_filter--><p>Dear PR WonderKids, </p>
<p>Everybody wants to get their products mentioned on the leading blogs in their target blogosphere, and I know it's part of your job to comb through <a href="http://www.chronicbabe.com/" target="_blank">social media outlets</a> and find places for your clients to be showcased. I admire your tenacity and your understanding of the <a href="http://www.thebuttercompartment.com/" target="_blank">impact that blogs</a> and social networking sites possess. </p>
<p>BUT.</p>
<p>(You had to see the &quot;but&quot; coming, right? Anticipating the market response?)</p>
<p>The pitches I've seen lately have been atrocious. One started out with &quot;dear blogger,&quot; as part of a mass email with undisclosed recipients. Another had &quot;Hey, Kerri!&quot; as the opener, with my name in a different font than the rest of the email - cut and paste much? Or the email that contained the phrase, &quot;Type 2 diabetes, which is your main concern, can be helped by [product name].&quot; Or the one that ended with, &quot;I suggest writing about 300 words on this product would be sufficient.&quot; </p>
<p>PR ladies and gentlemen, you need to take a breath. I receive several dozens of pitches from companies a week, and for the most part, they are disappointing. However, there are a few PR mavens who I have actually developed a good working relationship with, because they have taken the time to get to know me and my blog, and they let me know that I'm not just another outreach effort. </p>
<p>Looking to tap the blogosphere for your next PR adventure? Please take these suggestions into account:
<ol>
<li><b>Know my name. </b> Seriously. Know it, use it, make me think you care about it. Addressing me as &quot;blogger&quot; or making it obvious that you pasted my name in to a boilerplate (see also: keep your fonts matchy-matchy) shows me that you don't care enough.</li>
<li><b>Read me.</b> I write about <a href="http://www.sixuntilme.com/" target="_blank">type 1 diabetes</a>. Don't pitch to me about the latest in gastric bypass surgeries. Don't sell me on the benefit of losing weight to come off of insulin injections. Make me believe that you know what my blog's focus is and that you care about the audience I'm reaching, not that you're just trying to get the word out to &quot;anyone.&quot; </li>
<li><b>Tailor your email. </b> One of the best pitches I ever received came with the introduction of &quot;Hi Kerri. I know you got married two weeks ago and I wanted to give you a little time to sift through your emails and catch up on things. Congratulations on your marriage, and my best to you and Chris!&quot; Then she went on with her pitch. But she let me know she reads me, knows about my life, and appears to care about my commitments. It sounds trite and slightly arrogant, but if you take the time to know me, I'll take the time to respond to you.</li>
<li><b>Be patient.</b> If I don't respond to your email right away, sending another one that says &quot;PLEASE RESPOND&quot; isn't cool. Your time is valuable, but my time is valuable, too. Appreciate the fact that my job is not to spread the word about your client.</li>
<li><b>Follow up.</b> If I write about your pitch, follow up with a &quot;thank you&quot; email to me. Let me know that you appreciate my efforts. That can help establish a good working relationship and potentially future promotional efforts.</li>
</ol>
</p><p>If you aren't able to follow these five simple rules, then maybe you should steer clear of pitching to my blog. </p>
<p>Best,<br /><a href="http://www.sixuntilme.com/" target="_blank">Kerri Morrone Sparling</a> </p>
<p>(Not &quot;Hey.&quot; Not &quot;<a href="http://countrygirldiabetic.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Esteemed Member of the Diabetes Community</a>.&quot; Not &quot;Diabetes Writer.&quot; And definitely not &quot;Blogger.&quot; Kerri.)</p>
<div class="og_rss_groups"></div>Healthbloggingdiabetespitchingprtips for PR repshttp://www.blogher.com/files/imagecache/user_small/pictures/picture-2104.jpgSat, 07 Mar 2009 15:22:09 +0000sixuntilme75555 at http://www.blogher.comDecember Dental Woeshttp://www.blogher.com/december-dental-woes
<!--paging_filter--><p>In many ways, I'm an adult. I am <a href="http://sixuntilme.com/blog2/2008/06/mr_and_mrs_sparling.html" target="_blank">married</a>. I have a job. I am responsible (to a certain extent) and I make the bed without being asked. This makes me a grown up, I think.</p>
<p>However, <a href="http://sixuntilme.com/blog2/2008/07/toofus.html" target="_blank">I'm scared of the dentist</a>, and the idea of going for something as simple as a routine cleaning makes me <a href="http://parenting.ivillage.com/tp/tphealth/0,,3xwf,00.html" target="_blank">tremble like a child</a>.</p>
<p>I have good reason, though. My family has good-looking teeth, but they not the best, structurally. Our teeth are exceptionally sensitive, and we require more novocaine than your average dental patient. (The <a href="http://www.sixuntilme.com" target="_blank">diabetes</a> doesn't help, as uncontrolled blood sugars contribute to gum disease. Fun.) As a kid, I spent some time in the dentist's chair having cavities filled (so did my brother and sister) and I wore braces for three years in middle school. As an adult, I've had my share of weird little toofus problems - like grinding down my molars while I sleep and these pesky sensitive spots at the base of a few of my front teeth.</p>
<p>It's these sensitive spots that cause me the most trouble. About ten years ago, my dentist decided that he needed to cap the base of my sensitive teeth. &quot;No, I don't want that,&quot; I thought. But becuse I was in Milgram Mode, I caved and let the dentist do his thing. He shaved off a bit of the very bottoms (near the gumline) of four of my teeth and put a ceramic filling over them. Sensitivity issues? Solved. But the procedure left me sore and bleeding for days. </p>
<p>And, three years later, one of the ceramic fillings popped off, exposing that vulnerable nervy area. I had a different dentist, and his repair included not using enough novocaine, accidentally drilling my lip, and earning many bloody cotton balls.</p>
<p>Two and a half years after that, this shoddy workmanship cracked off again. Another dentist took a literal stab at it, mangling my gums and leaving aching teeth and bruises on the side of my face. Bastard dentist.</p>
<p>So when this God forsaken filling popped off yet again Monday morning, I was filled with panic. &quot;Oh, for crying out loud.&quot; The exposed spot wasn't so painful, but past experience told me that repairing it would be a nightmare. </p>
<p>Without letting my brain reach maximum nervousness, I called a new local dentist and made an appointment. &quot;Tomorrow morning? Great, thank you.&quot; Pause. &quot;Um, is Dr. B nice? I'm nervous.&quot;</p>
<p>The receptionist laughed. &quot;She's very nice. We have plenty of nervous patients, and they all like her a lot.&quot;</p>
<p>&quot;Awesome. See you at 8.&quot; </p>
<p>I showed up to the small practice, nerves of all kinds exposed, and Dr. B greeted me at the door. </p>
<p>&quot;Hi, are you Kerri?&quot;</p>
<p>&quot;Yes. You knew it was me?&quot;</p>
<p>She consulted my chart. &quot;They said you were nervous. You look a little nervous.&quot; She smiled and closed the folder. &quot;Nothing to worry about. This is going to be just fine.&quot;</p>
<p>Let me tell you that I sent a thank you note to the dentist this morning because she was awesome. Aside from being this friendly looking woman with an easy smile, she took great pains to make sure I wasn't in any pain. She made sure I was novocained to the fullest extent so I wouldn't feel any discomfort at all. She told me what she was going to do before she did it, and she advised me to close my eyes when the instruments in play weren't the friendliest-looking. (I told you I was a big ol' baby.) She also had a DVD player mounted above the chair, and using headphones to listen, I watched two episodes of The Office while she fixed my tooth. I know this sounds melodramatic but I can't properly explain how scared of the dentist I am, and how much this particular experience didn't suck.</p>
<p>After it was over, she smiled at me. &quot;I hope that wasn't too bad. Are you feeling okay?&quot;</p>
<p>&quot;It wathn't bad at aw. Fank you,&quot; I said, trying to look grown up, but it was hard with the drool and one side of my mouth completely uncooperative. I smiled a lopsided, pathetic smile, but I meant it. And when I got in the car, I called my husband.</p>
<p>&quot;Chrith! The dentith wath awefum. It didn't huht at aww. I aweady scheduwed a cweaning.&quot;</p>
<p>Cwisis avewted. </p>
<p>Other BlogHer bloggers who understand my fear :) :<br /><a href="/realized-fears-laundry-dentist-appointments">Realized Fears: Laundry &amp; Dentist Appointments</a><br /><a href="/dental-barbarism">Dental Barbarism</a><br /><a href="/dentist-visit">The Dentist Visit </a></p>
<div class="og_rss_groups"></div>Healthafraid of the dentistdentistdiabetessixuntilmehttp://www.blogher.com/files/imagecache/user_small/pictures/picture-2104.jpgFri, 19 Dec 2008 21:01:00 +0000sixuntilme64948 at http://www.blogher.comGetting Ready For Baby?http://www.blogher.com/getting-ready-baby
<!--paging_filter--><p>As soon as my husband and I returned from our <a href="http://sixuntilme.com/blog2/2008/06/the_honeymoon.html" target="_blank">honeymoon in May</a>, the questions started. &quot;So when are you going to have a baby?&quot; &quot;Is it baby time yet?&quot; &quot;How 'bout them Red Sox ... and are you pregnant yet or what?&quot;</p>
<p>Oh no, not yet. Definitely not this year, and maybe not even next year. We're not quite there yet, but now that we're <a href="http://sixuntilme.com/blog2/2008/06/mr_and_mrs_sparling.html" target="_blank">married and happy</a>, starting a family is on our collective Sparling radar. </p>
<p>I know that pregnancy is a wild ride, diabetic or not. But from what I've heard, being a diabetic woman and being pregnant can be a particular challenge. I've heard both <a href="http://thesweetnesswithin.blogspot.com/2007/04/welcome-to-world-baby-l.html" target="_blank">stories of struggle</a> and then <a href="http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/5868/18916/girl" target="_blank">relatively stress-free successes</a> from other women with diabetes, so it seems like those nine months vary from person to person.</p>
<p>For me, I'm going to make getting healthy my goal for the next few months. While I was engaged, I was very focused on getting fit for the wedding, keeping that white dress in mind, so I was working out regularly and keeping fit. But that mindset was very superficial - I wanted to look good in my wedding pictures. This whole &quot;getting ready for baby&quot; thing is a mindset I've never experienced before.</p>
<p>I found myself making phone calls a few months to set up doctor's appointments. I scheduled an appointment with my primary care physcian. I made my yearly gynecological appointment. And I also made an appointment to start the pregnancy clinic at Joslin next March. In the past, these appointments were more routine maintenance events. Now, I'm intent upon optomizing my health in hopes of carrying a child in the next year or two. It's not too early to be thinking about this - it's actually the best time.</p>
<p>A few weeks ago, I had my yearly appointment and after my doctor congratulated me on my recent nuptials, she got right down to the discussion about children.</p>
<p>&quot;You're young and you're healthy, so we are not going to worry. But you are diabetic, and 22 years with diabetes is nothing to ignore. What I want to do is get your A1C [a diabetes test that takes your average blood sugar level over the last three months] down to that nice happy baby range. When are you planning on coming off birth control?&quot;</p>
<p>&quot;Not at least until January or so of next year.&quot;</p>
<p>&quot;Good. Okay, so from now until early next year, we work on those blood sugars. Under 7% [note: a person without diabetes runs between 4.5 - 5% for their A1C] is a good goal, but you are already close. We want a nice happy baby range. We want as close to 6.5% as we can get. How does that sound to you?&quot;</p>
<p>&quot;Good to me. I am ready to work hard.&quot;</p>
<p>&quot;I like the sounds of that. And once you are in that range ...&quot;</p>
<p>I couldn't help but interrupt. &quot;The Nice Happy Baby Range?&quot;</p>
<p>She laughed. &quot;Yes, the NHB range. We get there, we talk with your husband about when you want to start trying, stop the birth control methods, and then you two go let nature take it's course. But that A1C is important. You're ready to make that commitment to your diabetes, right?&quot;</p>
<p>I thought about that maternal instinct that has bloomed in me over the past decade and that feeling of a soft, sleeping baby tucked underneath my chin. I pictured my husband as a father. I saw myself as <a href="http://spokeinthewheel.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">someone's mother</a>. This may not be easy, but I think it may be the most rewarding experience of my life.</p>
<p>&quot;I am ready to do that. I can't think of a more important reason to make these changes now.&quot;</p>
<p>My doctor gave me a smile and leaned across her desk, motioning for me to come closer. </p>
<p>&quot;Baby or not, Mrs. Sparling, it's worth making these changes just for your own health.&quot;</p>
<p>I'm ready to get ready. </p>
<div class="og_rss_groups"></div>HealthbabiesFertilitykerri sparlingmarriagesixuntilmetype 1 diabeteshttp://www.blogher.com/files/imagecache/user_small/pictures/picture-2104.jpgFri, 05 Dec 2008 17:10:30 +0000sixuntilme63107 at http://www.blogher.comBut What If I Don't WANT To Be Rail Thin?http://www.blogher.com/what-if-i-dont-want-be-rail-thin
<!--paging_filter--><p>Beauty benchmarks seem to be measured in what size pants you fit into and what designer hand bag you have draped over your rail-thin arm. </p>
<p>This is the biggest bunch of crap I have ever heard. In my life.</p>
<p>There's a lot of body image problems in our society. (Feel free to file that under &quot;No Kidding.&quot;) Women are shown almost-unattainable media images and are encouraged - expected? - to achieve that look. As a girl with <a href="http://www.sixuntilme.com" target="_blank">type 1 diabetes</a> and part of a family of curvier people, whittling my body down to that socially mandated size isn't easy ... and wasn't accomplished. Life with diabetes puts a huge <a href="http://sixuntilme.com/blog2/2007/11/operation_willpower.html" target="_blank">emphasis on food</a>, making me unable to eat just a raisin for lunch. Instead, I ate in accordance with the then-peaking of my insulin and tried to keep my weight, and my diabetes, under control. This was difficult at times.</p>
<p>I was never a &quot;thin&quot; adult. I've always had more of an athletic build than that of a runway model. As a kid, I was scrawny, but once puberty hit, my body took on womanly curves and held fast to them. I never felt shapely or feminine - instead, I felt fat. In college, I lived with six other girls (<a href="http://sixuntilme.com/about/2007/09/what_does_six_until_me_mean.html" target="_blank">six until me</a>?) and they were all teeny little things. They had thin arms and thin legs and they shared clothes with one another, but I couldn't get in on that scene because I was about two sizes bigger than all of them. If they were wearing size 4 pants, I was in an 8. I always felt a bit bigger, a bit more awkward, and very shy about my body. Despite whether or not I looked as overweight as I felt, my mind was entrenched in thoughts that were self-conscious. I was very unfair to myself, just like many other women are. It sucks to feel bad about yourself.</p>
<p>Diabetes challenges my health, but it sometimes offers up a <a href="http://www.backinskinnyjeans.com/" target="_blank">healthy perspective</a>. It took me several years to really come to terms with the fact that my body needs to have different priorities. Going to the gym has become less about slimming down my stomach and more about <a href="http://www.fitnessfixation.com/" target="_blank">improving my cardiovascular health</a>, lowering my A1C, and reducing body fat so that I can make better use of my injected insulin. It couldn't be about fitting into a smaller dress size because it needed to be about being healthier every day.</p>
<p>I'm not going to be teeny. I will not be the girl who appears to be challenged by every breeze that blows through. My body will be strong and curvy and ornamented by various <a href="http://sixuntilme.com/blog2/2008/07/dexcom_tips.html" target="_blank">medical devices</a>, like a diabetic Christmas tree. It's taken me a long time to <a href="http://ronisweigh.com/2008/11/weekend-quote-redefining-success.html" target="_blank">achieve a level of confidence</a> in how I look and how I feel about myself. But I see myself now and realize that I don't look much different than I did in high school or in college. I just feel different. I feel like the numbers that matter aren't the ones on the scale or sewn into the tag on my skirt, but instead the ones stored in my <a href="http://sixuntilme.com/blog2/2008/08/my_glucose_meter_talks_to_me.html" target="_blank">glucose meter</a>. </p>
<p>I feel happy, and that looks better on me than any stitch of clothing I own.</p>
<div class="og_rss_groups"></div>Healthbody imagehealthkerri sparlingsixuntilmetype 1 diabeteshttp://www.blogher.com/files/imagecache/user_small/pictures/picture-2104.jpgFri, 21 Nov 2008 19:44:50 +0000sixuntilme62014 at http://www.blogher.comWorld Diabetes Dayhttp://www.blogher.com/world-diabetes-day
<!--paging_filter--><p>Today, November 14th, is <a href="http://worlddiabetesday.org/" target="_blank">World Diabetes Day</a> (WDD). WDD was introduced in 1991 by the International Diabetes Federation and the World Health Organization as a response to the rising rate of diabetes diagnoses across the world. In 2007, the UN passed the United Nations World Diabetes Day Resolution and made November 14th World Diabetes Day.</p>
<p>Today, the attention of the world is turned to diabetes. </p>
<p>Funny. It's been a focus in my life for the past twenty-two years.</p>
<p>I wear it draped around me like an invisible cloak, one you can't see until I show you the sharp edges. This disease, this type 1 diabetes that you can't see or smell or taste unless I bring you in. It's my hidden disease, my quiet battle.</p>
<p>Look at me and you'll see my father's eyes. My mother's smile. You might see that my jeans are hemmed because I'm slightly on the shorter side, or that my purse has a few little bite marks in the strap from where my cat Siah nibbled on it as a kitten.</p>
<p>But look closer and you'll find my insulin pump, tucked into a pocket or resting in my sock. My fingertips, dotted brown from testing my blood sugar. My thighs, dotted red from past insulin pump infusion sets. My arm playing host to a Dexcom CGM. A pattern of stinging stars on my body, left by diabetes.</p>
<p>Listen to me and you'll hear my loud laugh. You'll hear my off-color jokes and my foolish attempts at puns. You'll hear me talking fast. Or maybe you'll hear my music, either coming from my desk or my home or my car. You'll hear me talking about my husband, or my family, or my cats, or my much-loved nieces and nephew. You'll hear my passion, my ideas, my voice.</p>
<p>But listen closer still and you'll hear the quiet 'boop <b>beep</b> <i>boop</i>' of my <a href="http://sixuntilme.com/blog2/insulin_pumping/" target="_blank">insulin pump</a>, the gentle <i>shunk</i> of the lancet as it pierces my skin, the sound of the meter bag being re-zipped. And if I let you in, you'll hear the veiled tone of uncertainty when I speak about my future. </p>
<p>Its presence is folded into everything I do. My <a href="http://sixuntilme.com/blog2/2008/06/diabetes_on_my_wedding_day.html" target="_blank">wedding dress</a> this past May was fitted to my form, but also included a pocket for my insulin pump. A night out with my friends includes laughter, a few drinks, and someone gently asking, &quot;Have you tested?&quot; A kiss is interrupted by &quot;you taste ... high.&quot; It explains so much of why I worry and why I work so hard.</p>
<p>I have lived with type 1 diabetes for over 22 years, and my future holds decades with this disease. Diabetes is every day, and there is no cure. But just because you can't see it doesn't mean it isn't there. Those of us who live with diabetes feel it every day, physically, emotionally, and financially. Type 1 diabetes deserves the attention of the nation and the promise of a cure. For <a href="http://dorkabetic.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Hannah at Dorkabetic</a> and <a href="http://momentsofwonderful.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Sara at Moments of Wonderful</a>, who live with diabetes every day. Or <a href="http://momwantsacure.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Shannon at Mom Wants A Cure</a>, whose son has diabetes. Thousands of people, waiting on a cure. </p>
<p>Today, on World Diabetes Day, I'm honored to have the chance to raise my voice here on BlogHer. So many people know what diabetes is, but not enough people know what diabetes is really like. I'm excited to be writing here at BlogHer, <a href="/world-diabetes-day-2008-november-14th" target="_blank">connecting with other wome</a>n who are dealing with chronic illnesses, find hope and inspiration, and show the world that there is life after diagnosis.</p>
<div class="og_rss_groups"></div>Healthdiabetesdiabetes awarenesskerri sparlingWorld Diabetes Dayhttp://www.blogher.com/files/imagecache/user_small/pictures/picture-2104.jpgFri, 14 Nov 2008 15:04:51 +0000sixuntilme60968 at http://www.blogher.comSix Until Me.http://www.blogher.com/node/10434
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<!--paging_filter--><p>"Diabetes doesn't define me, but it helps explain me." </p>
<p><a href="http://www.sixuntilme.com">Six Until Me.</a> chronicles the life of a twentysomething writer who was diagnosed with type one diabetes at the age of six. Six Until Me. is an honest look at living with diabetes and retaining a sense of humor, as well as a sense of self.</p>
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<div class="og_rss_groups"></div>Health BlogsLife Blogshttp://www.blogher.com/files/imagecache/user_small/pictures/picture-2104.jpgTue, 12 Sep 2006 20:39:30 +0000sixuntilme10434 at http://www.blogher.com